107
The his o ical o ma ion o
a ansna ional coope a ion:
The Ba en s Eu o-A c ic egion
ADRIAN BRAUN
ad ian.b aun@ulapland. i
La s Elenius (ed.); Hall a d Tjelmeland, Ma ia Läh eenmäki, Alexey Golube (co-
eds.); Eina Niemi, Ma i Salo (ass . eds.)
The Ba en s Region: A T ansna ional His o y o Suba c ic No he n Eu ope.
Oslo, PAX Fo lag AS, 2015. 518 p.
La s Elenius (P o esso o His o y and Educa ion, Umeå Uni e si y, Sweden) he Chie
Edi o o The Ba en s Region – A T ansna ional His o y o Suba c ic No he n Eu ope,
in coope a ion wi h 26 o he expe s om di e se scien i ic disciplines, ou lines a
esea ch-based his o ical summa y o he economic, socie al, cul u al and geopoli ical
de elopmen o he no he nmos e i o ies o he No dic coun ies Finland, No way
and Sweden and he No hwes e i o ies o oday’s Russian Fede a ion. The ime
pe iod conside ed in he book begins in he yea 800 and concludes in 2010, e en
hough he Ba en s Decla a ion was signed in Janua y 1993 o ins i u e he Ba en s
Eu o-A c ic Region. Hence he au ho s ou line a pa h o he di e se e hnic g oups,
cul u es and poli ical sys ems ha had las ed o abou 1200 yea s, esul ing e en ually
in he es ablishmen o he ansna ional Ba en s Region.
The impe us behind his wo k is he need o a his o y book abou he Ba en s Region
ha did no exis in his o m ea lie . This need is de e mined by he ac ha he e is
an immense lack o knowledge abou he Ba en s Region in he global communi y and
e en, o ins ance, in he sou he n pa s o he Ba en s Region coun ies.
The au ho s ollow a ch onological app oach h oughou he book, aking he eade
on a jou ney h ough he cen u ies o he egion’s his o y. Howe e , hei app oach is
THE HISTORICAL FORMATION OF A TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION: THE BARENTS EURO-ARCTIC REGION
ADRIAN BRAUN | Pages 107– 109
108 BARENTS STUDIES: Neo-libe alism and sus ainable de elopmen in he Ba en s egion: A communi y pe spec i e
VOL. 4 | ISSUE 1 | 2017
c ea i e, and ins ead o simply going h ough he no able his o ical e en s, hey se
se en “ u ning poin s” in ol ing impo an de elopmen al shi s in e as o economic
ans o ma ion, mode nisa ion, g owing egionalism, s a e expansion, u banisa ion,
indus ialisa ion and globalisa ion. These e as a e p esen ed in he i s eigh chap e s,
which a e amed by a p e ace and in oduc ion and a concluding chap e (Chap e
nine) which summa ises he con en o he en i e book. Each o he i s eigh chap e s
deals wi h a s ic ly de ined ime pe iod: o example, Chap e one co e s he yea s
800-1550, and he eigh h chap e discusses he inal yea s on which his s udy ocuses,
he pe iod om 1993 o 2010.
The au ho s explici ly pu sue a hema ic a ie y o his o ical con en in e e y chap e .
They ha e chosen a couple o amewo ks ha hey conside he mos ele an o de-
sc ibe and analyse he his o y o he Eu opean Suba c ic and A c ic. As he Ba en s
Region was de eloped o s eng hen economic ela ions and coope a ion among he
ou Ba en s Region coun ies a e he all o he I on Cu ain, i is easonable o high-
ligh he economic and poli ical de elopmen s in each chap e . The ci y and egion o
Oulu is a good example in his espec , as he au ho s show how his a ea de eloped
in o a comme cial own in he 17 h cen u y, was pi o al in he a expo and shipbuild-
ing indus ies o many yea s, and became a pionee a ea in he de elopmen o Finnish
in o ma ion and communica ion echnologies (ICT) in he 1980s. In he pe spec i e o
indus ialisa ion i is well explained how, o example, in No bö en, Sweden, and on
he Kola Peninsula he ex ac i e indus ies con inuously expanded and how p og ess
in he cons uc ion o new ailways, wa e ways and oads connec ed he No he n e -
i o ies o o he pa s in he wo ld.
Ano he achie emen o his book is he well-s uc u ed depic ion o all he e hnic
g oups ha ha e called he e i o ies o oday’s Ba en s Region home in ancien and
mode n imes. The eade lea ns how he indigenous peoples, he Sámi, Nene s and
Vepsians had o adap con inuously o demog aphic and geopoli ical changes in he
egion o e he cen u ies. Mo eo e , he book ells abou o he e hnic g oups like he
Komi, who claim o be indigenous as well, bu whose o icial s a us is s ill pending.
The K ens, a Finnish-speaking mino i y in he No h o No way, a e an example o an
e hnic g oup ha seeks accep ance in No wegian socie y.
O he subjec s ha a e conside ed h oughou his wo k a e he changing pe iods o
ade and coope a ion and, on he o he hand, he pe iods o con lic and wa . Finland
109
igu es p ominen ly and is always a he cen e o a en ion, as i belonged o Sweden
o pa o i s his o y, and la e , as he G and Duchy o Finland, was pa o he Russian
Empi e (1809-1917), be o e gaining independence.
Economic de elopmen s and demog aphic changes a e consis en ly unde pinned by
signi ican s a is ics and maps. Mo eo e , he book includes a di e se se o illus a ions
and pho og aphs ha p esen he special cha ac e is ics o he Ba en s Region o he
eade in a i id way.
Conside ing he pu pose o he book, which is o add ess he esea ch communi y
in he ields o his o y and social sciences, as well as people who a e in e es ed in he
his o y o he Ba en s Region, he wo k succeeds o a la ge ex en in p o iding mean-
ing ul in o ma ion and insigh s. The s uc u e and language allow eade s wi hou
a special academic backg ound o ollow he con en easily and consequen ly gain a
be e unde s anding o he de elopmen o no he n Eu opean e i o ies. One o he
majo s eng hs o his wo k is, as accen ua ed in he i le, he ac ha he ansna ional
iew is pe cep ible h oughou he en i e con en o he book, and he lis o au ho s
comp ises na i es and expe s om all ou coun ies o he Ba en s Region. P e ious
wo ks o en ocus ei he solely on he No dic coun ies o exclusi ely on he Russian
Fede a ion, bu paying a en ion o all ou egions in he same book has ha dly been
done be o e.
All in all, his wo k accomplishes he edi o ’s goal o summa ising he his o y o he
Ba en s Region by desc ibing he s ep-by-s ep con e gence o e en s, de elopmen s
and u ning poin s o e a 1200-yea pe iod o poin ou how he egion has de eloped,
leading o he p esen -day si ua ion. In his ega d, The Ba en s Region – A T ansna ional
His o y o Suba c ic No he n Eu ope is an excellen con ibu ion o his o ical science
and se e al o he disciplines.
THE HISTORICAL FORMATION OF A TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION: THE BARENTS EURO-ARCTIC REGION
ADRIAN BRAUN | Pages 107– 109